Walts Place

BENONI CITY OF LAKES

by PEE-WEE

"BENONI"

BENONI.

The town of Benoni had an uneasy birth. In 1881 the government of the Transvaal republic decided to assign title deeds to unclaimed State property lying between occupied farms.

The task fell to Johann Rissik, later to become surveyor-general and administrator of the Transvaal.

One region was particularly irregularly shaped and difficult to survey.
Rissik gave it the mournful name of Benoni ( "Son of my sorrows')- the name Rachel gave to her son Benjamin (Genesis 35:18).

In September 1887 gold was discovered at Benoni.The Chimes Mine was established here and staffed by Cornishmen, who were particularly intolerant of 'foreigners'.

The mining village became a "little Cornwall" , with whippet racing, gambling and organized dog fights.

Benoni owes much of its beauty to Sir George Farrar, chairman of the mining company which first owned the area.
During the 1900's he planted thousands of trees in the town.
Water was pumped from the mines to a natural marsh, and a chain of reservoirs was created and stocked with fish.

These reservoirs are large enough for yachting and boating, and there are many picnic sites on the banks.

The town became a municipality in 1907and , apart from gold, it produces iorn , steel and brass.

In the town is the 44,2-hectare Korsman Bird Sanctuary, the home of waterfowl such as flamingo, ibis and egret as well as antelope, particularly duiker, blesbok and springbok.

The Rynfield Children's Park is a 17,5 - hectare playground, inhabited by hundreds of rabbits, tame sheep and birds which somehow survive repeated overfeeding and affectionate handling.

Benoni is the headquarters of the Eastern Transvaal Football Association and the Eastern Transvaal Cricket Union.

The town has a motor - racing track, bowling greens and two golf courses.

Benoni lies in the summer rainfall region of South Africa and has an average rainfall of 723 mm per year.

the area enjoys long warm summers averaging in the upper 20 degree Celsius and short crisp winters.